It seems like in recent months and weeks, you just can't seem to escape the news of some type of food recall or without hearing about an outbreak of food contamination at a local restaurant. The CDC has been working with the USDA, FDA, and state/local public health officials to investigate these recent outbreaks caused by Listeria monocytogenes. So, how can you protect yourself from Listeria? Let's first start with the basics.

When it comes to food safety, we tend to focus on the food processor and their environmental monitoring system, or the home kitchen and how to keep food properly stored until consumption. But what about the in between step of where the food is sold?

Over the summer, we introduced you to some of the most frequent causes of foodborne illnesses. There are over 200 known species of bacteria that are related to foodborne illnesses. Here are five more that are frequent offenders and have made a few headlines.

Cronobacter is a lesser known bacterium, but can be just as dangerous as the more famous ones like Salmonella and E. coli. This bacterium can survive in dry environments, such as powdered baby formula, powdered milk, herbal teas and starches. It can also survive outside of a host organism and so, can be found on kitchen counters and food production factory surfaces. Learn more about how to keep your food safe in every process of preparation!